Arbor-Lyn approved but density is cut
Sussex County Council approved a conditional-use application for Arbor-Lyn, but in the process slashed the developer's requested density and number of units.
Developer Lockwood Design and Construction sought to build 202 units on a 35-acre wooded parcel along Warrington Road near Rehoboth Beach. The developer filed for a rezoning to medium-density residential, MR, and a conditional-use for multifamily housing. Council approved the rezoning application Sept. 20.
The conditional-use application proposed a density of 5.7 units per acre. At its Dec. 13 meeting, before voting on the conditional-use application, council voted 3-2 to amend a planning and zoning commission condition to restrict the project to 4 per acre, the maximum permitted on MR zoned land. By limiting the density, the maximum units allowed on the site is reduced by 60 to a total of 142.
In her final meeting before retiring, Councilwoman Joan Deaver, D-Rehoboth Beach, made the motion to amend the condition. She said the land was originally zoned AR-1, which allows 2 units to an acre. “With MR zoning we are already doubling the density,” she said.
Deaver said 4 units to an acre is more compatible with the surrounding area with five of seven nearby developments with equal or less density.
Council also voted 3-2 in favor of the conditional-use application that included the amendment to allow for 4 units per acre.
Deaver and councilmen Mike Vincent, R-Seaford, and George Cole, R-Ocean View, voted in favor of the amendment and the conditional-use application. Councilmen Rob Arlett, R-Frankford, and Sam Wilson, R-Georgetown, voted against both the amendment and the conditional use.
At earlier meetings, Deaver and Cole had expressed concerns over the impact of high-density development in an area where traffic is already congested.
Council also voted to not place restrictions on the minimum number of single-family homes in the mixed-use community. “We should allow the developer and the marketplace determine that ratio. They can still do a mix as long as it meets code,” Cole said.
The developer will be responsible for road improvements along Warrington Road and will contribute funding along with other developers to improvements at the Old Landing Road/Warrington Road and Route 24/Warrington Road/Plantation Road intersections.
Under approved conditions, the development will have a 20-foot forested buffer around the property's perimeter, nearly 22 acres of open space, sidewalks and a pool and community building.
The developer will have to submit a revised preliminary site plan reflecting the conditions; the final plan will be subject to review by the planning and zoning commission.
After the planning and zoning commission recommended denial of the original application for HR-1 high-density zoning, the developer withdrew the application. Commissioners were concerned that if the project did not go forward, the high-density zoning that allows for up to 12 units per acre, would stay with the parcel.
The developer withdrew that application and refiled for medium-density zoning with a conditional-use to allow for 202 multifamily units.
